A Day in Pompeii...

A little over a week ago, my Art History class took a field trip to Pompeii. I know what you're thinking...field trip? Aren't you almost a college graduate, Allison? This is true, but I've come to the conclusion that things happen a bit differently when studying abroad...field trips are the norm and I'm not complaining.

The course I am taking is called, "Cities, Towns & Villas" and I was already a big fan of the class before the words "field"and "trip" were uttered. The course is completely on-site where we travel to famed monuments and sites including the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Capitoline Hill and Palantine Hill. It is the ideal way to see Rome and soak in its historical foundations. Check back in a week, I could be running a new guided tour of Ancient Rome...

The only issue I've run into with the course is the constant presence of what I like to refer to as the "Germanified" story of Ancient Rome. My ever-so-sweet Professor has a wealth of knowledge on the subject, but his German accent tends to write a different tale of Rome. For the first three classes I racked my brain trying to understand why we were talking about "wizards" at the Colosseum, until I learned we were in fact just discussing "VISITS" to the site...woops

So imagine my excitement when the treat in Pompeii was that every student was equipped with our own guide booklet of the ancient city---THANK THE LORD! If there were any language discrepancies, the booklet would save me.

Pompeii is an extremely interesting place; a city that was somewhat frozen in time. The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius took place in 72 AD and blanketed the entirety of Pompeii and its inhabitants in 4 meters of volcanic ash and rock. It was not rediscovered until the 16th century. It is a perfect site to study for archeologists because it is so well preserved. At Pompeii, we were able to see the famous plaster casts molds of human and animal bodies, ancient city brothels, amphitheaters, and homes. Here are some of my favorite sites from the day:

Several Plaster Cast Molds

Mold of Bed in Brothel Room

Theatre

It was extremely hot that day and apparently we missed the memo that every senior citizen tour group in the world was also making their way around Pompeii. Luckily they had a later start to their day, so we were able to see much of the city at a normal-faster pace :)